Aetna Member Story

Angel In Disguise

Olivia*, a registered nurse care manager with Aetna Better Health® of Illinois has been working with Angela* for more than one year. Their relationship started after Angela was hospitalized and received a new diagnosis. When Angela was discharged from the hospital, Olivia reached out to see how she was doing.

Angela’s daughter was her caregiver and was a little overwhelmed. After speaking to Angela’s daughter and learning about her current needs, Olivia got to work. She contacted Angela’s primary care physician (PCP) to confirm her follow-up appointments. She made calls to ensure the order for durable medical equipment (DME) had been placed and that Angela received the supplies. Olivia worked with Angela’s family to get power-of-attorney documents on file with Aetna. She also provided information about the health plan’s benefits for over-the-counter products and made sure a referral for palliative care was received.

Angela’s family felt supported and cared for; they were able to develop a trusting relationship with Olivia. They were pleased with the numerous resources that were shared. In fact, they sent the following email to the health plan:

“On behalf of my mother, I would like to share some recognition for Ms. Olivia. Olivia had been my mom’s coordinator since one of her recent hospitalizations late last year. I will be honest — I was initially frustrated and annoyed when I saw Aetna on the caller ID. I wondered, “What could they possibly want? Don’t they know all her info? I’m dealing with enough as it is.” Needless to say, only God would know how much Ms. Olivia’s comforting and compassionate voice would calm me, and eventually be recognized as a true and genuine resource.

Ms. Olivia has been so pleasant and helpful in my mom’s recent diagnosis. She is patient and thorough. If she tells me she will call me back at a set time, she calls. If she needs to research something and get back to me, she follows up as promised. She’s compassionate and caring, and it shows in how she assisted me. In a world where patrons and clients often share so much negative feedback, and what went wrong matters, I feel equally obligated to tell you all the things she does right. I hope this email goes as high in the organization as it could, because it’s the work like this that leaders need to see."

*Member name changed to protect privacy